


Friendship is Magic

by thundercaya



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Other, POV First Person, my little pony - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-19 17:16:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11902413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundercaya/pseuds/thundercaya
Summary: Sometimes you make the decision not to try to get to know your crush. Sometimes your crush makes the decision to commission you to make a My Little Pony hoodie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cleholden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleholden/gifts).



It was last quarter when I first laid eyes on the most exquisitely beautiful human being in all of creation. His hair, pulled back every single day--perfect. His beard, sculpted and neatly trimmed-- perfect. His clothes, close fitting tops with flowy bottoms or the reverse--perfect. His make-up, always matched to what he was wearing--perfect. The one time I saw him not done-up was on the day of the final, and even in no makeup and sweatpants, a few strands of hair slipping from his ponytail, he looked too good to exist in this world. We were in the same lecture, with 250 other students, so even though I was acutely aware of him, he probably didn't notice me. We never spoke, not even once, not even a hello. It was better that way. People rarely held up under real scrutiny. It was better to just admire him, just let him be beautiful.

This quarter, that all changed.

We were in the same discussion group. Much smaller, about fifteen people. On the first day he not only noticed me, he looked right at me and smiled. I’d never been in the direct light of that smile before and it took me a moment to process when he said; “I’m Gilbert.” He had an accent. French. Did I know that before? “Didn't we have a class together last term?” 

“Um, yeah,” I said. I cleared my throat and tugged at my beanie. “I’m, uh, Hercules. It was a big class. I’m surprised you noticed me.”

His grin grew wider. “You command any space you occupy, and it would be hard to miss someone with three different My Little Pony sweaters.”

I ducked my head, face heating up. “Oh, um, well you see--”

“No need to be embarrassed,” Gilbert dismissed with a graceful wave of his hand. “I like the ponies, too. In fact when I saw your sweaters I tried to see if I could find some myself, but yours are different from the ones on the internet.”

“Yeah. I, uh, made them myself.”

Gilbert’s eyes lit up, eyebrows raising with delighted surprise. “Do you think you could make one for me?”

“Uh, sure.”

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much will it cost me?”

“Oh, you don’t have to--” I cut off abruptly as he took hold of one of my hands.

“Such talented fingers should not work for free.”

The TA entered and the students began to shuffle to their seats. Gilbert sighed as if defeated, holding my hand a moment longer before fishing a pencil out of his bag. He jotted his number down on the open notebook in front of me. “Text me later. We can discuss the payment, and arrange the measurement. Yes?”

My hand was still radiating warmth where he’d touched me. “Uh, yes. Of course.”

He grinned, and as I was finding more and more that I liked having that grin pointed at me, he found his seat.

I was wrong. He absolutely held up under scrutiny.

  


When I got back to my dorm after completing my classes for the day, I found my roommate Alex hard at work on the computer.

“Guess whose number I got!” I said in place of an actual greeting.

Alex held up a hand towards me while continuing to type. Only when he’d completed his thought did he turn to me and say; “That guy you wouldn’t stop talking about last quarter?”

My face heated up instantly. “I wouldn’t say that I--Yes.”

Alex grinned. “Hey, good for you, man. Are you gonna hook up?”

I cleared my throat and tugged at my beanie. “That’s… not the first step I had in mind.”

“But that’s what you’re working towards, right? It’s always good to start with a goal. Can’t make a plan of action without one.

“I’m not planning anything!” I said, holding my hands up defensively. “I just wanna talk to him a bit and see how things go, you know?”

Alex grinned. “If that’s what you want to tell yourself, go ahead, but when you’re ready to get serious, you let me know and I’ll give you some great tips.”

  


I spent way more time than was reasonable cleaning up the dorm for Gilbert’s visit. I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t a social call--measuring him for a commission was strictly business. Just the same I wasn’t opposed to how close I’d be getting to him.

I wanted Alex out of the dorm before Gilbert showed up, but Alex was eager to meet him. We compromised, Alex promising to stay just long enough to say hi before making his exit.

Alex was closer to the door when someone knocked on it. We made eye contact and before I could tell him to let me get it, Alex made a move for the door. I dove for it, which was a mistake because it resulted in me picking myself off the floor as Gilbert watched me with a bemused look on his face from the doorway.

“Hercules, are you all right?” he asked me.

“Uh, yeah,” I said, brushing myself off. “Just, uh… yoga.” I cleared my throat. “This is Alex, my roommate. Alex, this is Gilbert.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Gilbert said.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Alex said. “I--”

“--was just leaving,” I cut in. “Wouldn’t want to keep Eliza waiting.” I gave Alex a pointed look. “Right?”

Alex cleared his throat. “Right. Well, you two have fun playing dress up.”

I ushered him out of the room and shut the door behind him. “Anyway,” I said, turning around to face Gilbert. “You want a snack or something or should we just get to it?”

“We can get started,” Gilbert said. “Although I must admit I have not yet decided which pony I want.”

“No favorite, huh?” I asked, grabbing my measuring tape off my desk. “Stand up straight.”

“No,” Gilbert said, following my command. “They are all good.”

“That’s true,” I agreed as I began taking measurements, “but everyone ends up with one eventually.”

“Can I try to guess yours?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Applejack?”

“Love her, but no. Arms out.”

“Twilight Sparkle?”

“Wrong again.”

“Then it must be Rarity”

“No,” I said, jotting down the final measurement. “It’s Pinkie Pie.”

Gilbert scoffed. “You tricked me. You don’t have a Pinkie Pie sweater.”

“Yeah, wasn’t too crazy about the color scheme.”

“You don’t like pink?”

“Pink is fine with other colors, but she’s pink on pink.”

“Well, I think I’ve decided what sweater I want.”

“Yeah?”

“Make me Pinkie Pie. I happen to look great in pink.”

“Yeah, you do,” I agreed. I cleared my throat. “So… That’s done.” I didn’t want him to leave, but I couldn’t think of a reason to ask him to stay.

“I’ll have that snack now, if it’s still being offered.”

Genius. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Yeah, of course,” I said, going to the mini fridge. “String cheese okay?”

“I would love a string cheese.”

“Go ahead and have a seat at my desk. It’s the one with the--”

“--pony pencil cup?” Gilbert finished for me, pulling out the chair and sitting in it with his legs straddling the back. “Though I guess your roommate could be a fan, too. It’s amazing how many of us boys like My Little Pony.”

“Oh…,” I said, fiddling with the string cheese in my hands. “I’m not a boy.”

“Oh, sorry. A… girl, then? Or maybe both?”

“Actually, neither. And don’t be sorry. I don’t tell everyone. It just seemed like a good opportunity to tell you.”

“I see. And if someone were to call you a boy am I to correct them or let it pass?”

“Let it pass. Anyone I want to know, I’ll tell them myself. But thanks for asking.”

“And is there… a name you prefer?”

“Hercules is fine, or Herc if that’s easier.”

Gilbert grinned. “It might be easier, but I happen to like the way that ‘Hercules’ feels on the tongue.”

My face heated up at that and I quickly turned my face away and cleared my throat. “Uh, here’s your string cheese,” I said, holding it out to him. 

“Thank you,” he said, taking it.

“Oh, no need to thank me,” I dismissed. “I’ll tack it onto the price of the sweater.”

He laughed, thank God, a full and hearty laugh that I could have listened to for hours. “In that case, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

The pleasure was all mine.

  


Gilbert and I said hi to each other when we went to class, but we didn’t talk much besides that. I didn’t know of anything we were both into other than My Little Pony and I didn’t want him to think that was all I could talk about. I was starting to think the ice he’d broken had frozen back over for good when he approached my desk and said; “Any update on my sweater?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’d say I’m about halfway done, but I’ve been a bit busy lately so I’m not sure exactly when I’ll finish, which is why I hadn’t sent any updates so far.”

“Well, seeing as I haven’t paid you yet, there’s no rush,” he said. “I understand if you’re busy.” He tilted his head, a slight pout on his lips. “Though not too busy to hang out sometime, I hope? Like maybe this weekend?”

I hadn’t been expecting that and it took me a moment to make words. “I-I think I might have plans with Alex. I mean, I don’t know of any plans, but sometimes he commits me to things without telling me first. Uh, let me double-check and I’ll get back to you tonight.”

“I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” he said before returning to his seat.

  


I burst into the dorm room. “Alex, are we doing anything this weekend?”

Alex glanced up from the textbook he was reading. “We?”

“Gilbert invited me to hang out--”

“That’s great!” Alex cut in with a grin.

“--but I don’t want to go alone so I was hoping we could do something together.”

Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I promised Eliza I’d take her out dancing.”

“Well, if you promised--”

“But she didn’t say I couldn’t bring people along!”

I held up my hands. “Don't go getting yourself in trouble.”

“I'll _ask_ her,” Alex assured me. “Don't worry.”

  


Eliza allowed it, mostly because Alex told her it was for me. At least that's what I gathered when she sent me a text that said _We’re going to find you love Herc._

I told Gilbert about our plans to go clubbing, and that if he wanted to come he should invite some friends too so he wouldn't be overwhelmed.

 _If they're friends with you I'm sure they're wonderful people and I have nothing to worry about._ he replied. _But yes I will bring someone along.  
_

Now all I had to do was not die of anticipation.  



	2. Chapter 2

To really sell the idea that it was a group outing, Alex and I also invited Aaron and his girlfriend Theo, as well as John and his boyfriend Frank. The friend that Gilbert invited, Thomas, brought his boyfriend James. I realized right away that Gilbert and I were highly outnumbered by couples, but I didn't mention it.

  
We went in two cars, my friends and I in Theo’s van, Gilbert and his friends in Thomas’ purple Jeep.

Eliza and Theo sat up front and spent the ride complaining about condescending professors. In the back, John, Aaron and Alex argued loudly about the latest superhero movies. When Aaron referred to Marvel as “that Disney shit,” John threw his Funko Pop Black Panther keychain at him. Frank shot me an exhausted look as he heaved a longsuffering sigh.

“Is it just me or are they unbearable when it’s all three of them?”

I just shrugged, not telling him that if I wasn't so preoccupied about Gilbert I would have been right in the fray with them.

  


Thomas, Theo and I were the only ones who were twenty-one, so we had to go to an 18+ club. I didn’t really care, though as we approached the line to get in, Thomas complained that the 21+ wristband would clash with his outfit.

“Just don’t drink and you won’t need a wristband,” James said.

Thomas scoffed, wrapping his arms around James as we settled into the line. “As if I’d go to a club and not drink.”

The other couples fell into similarly affectionate stances. I flashed a smile at Gilbert and considered getting closer to him, but he was wearing a crop top and the tightest pants I had ever seen; I felt like I’d combust if I so much as brushed shoulders with him. I was also drawing a blank on how to open up a conversation, or do anything other than keep adjusting my headband. John seemed to notice this and broke the silence.

“I heard Herc is making you a hoodie.”

“Yes!” Gilbert said. “I’m very excited.”

“They made me one, too. Well, a Pokemon one.”

“If you have any pictures I would love to see. They have an incredible talent.”

“I have pictures,” I cut in, picking up the baton John had so graciously held out for me. I pulled out my phone to pull up the pictures.

“Who is that strangely-dressed woman?” Gilbert asked of my lock screen.

“Oh, she's a wrestler.”

Gilbert chuckled.“It seems I have a lot to learn about you. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a fan.”

“It’s why I started sewing,” I said, flipping through my pictures. “I wanted to make myself a cool wrestling outfit.”

“Well, if you were that serious about it, you must have some moves. I hope you’ll show them to me some time.”

I nearly choked, and rather than answer him I shoved my phone into his hands, a picture of John’s hoodie on the screen.

“The one of John wearing it is the last one,” I said hurriedly. “Then there's progress shots of yours, so don't go past it if you want it to be a surprise.”

Gilbert grinned at me. “Well, I do love surprises.”

  


When we entered the club, Gilbert put a hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear what I’d already noticed. “It would seem that we are the only ones who are not paired off.”

“Looks like it,” I agreed, heart pounding at the closeness and his breath on my ear. 

“Will you dance with me, then?”

I wanted to--God, I wanted to--but combustion was seeming more and more likely and I wasn’t sure I could handle it. “Well….” I glanced over at Thomas and James who had found a booth and were settling into it. “Your friends aren’t dancing. We can hang out with them.”

“James is not one for dancing, true, but if I asked Thomas to dance with me, I’m sure he would. You can sit and talk with James if you’d like.”

“No,” I said quickly. I took a deep breath and pressed on. “We can-- I’ll dance with you.”

The first few minutes were pretty normal. We kept a friendly distance between ourselves and I couldn’t help but think back on high school dances, chaperones watching like hawks from every dark corner, ready to appear in an instant and remind us to leave enough room for a basketball.

Gilbert locked eyes with me and his lips twitched up into a smile. The next thing I knew, he was grabbing my hips and pulling himself closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, following his lead. Soon there wasn’t enough room between us for a page of the coach’s playbook.  Heart racing, I grinded against him as eagerly as he did against me. There weren’t many coherent thoughts in my head, my rational thinking forced out of my brain by the electricity coursing through every part of me, but I had to think that surely this wasn’t the way Gilbert would have danced with Thomas.

I was starting to think the moment couldn’t be any more perfect and thrilling when Gilbert pressed his lips to mine, soft and warm. We continued the friction and pressure between our bodies and our lips and just when I thought I was going to lose it in an 18+ club in front of all our friends, he pulled back from the kiss and stopped his motion against me. He smiled as if we’d been lounging around eating snacks and and telling jokes instead of having fully-clothed public sex and said; “we should get out of here, don’t you think?”

Thinking had nothing to do with it, but I nodded my head and had a Lyft booked before we even walked out the door.

  


When I woke up the next morning, the spot in my bed that had been warm and occupied by a pleased and spent Gilbert when I’d fallen asleep was cold and empty. My stomach knotted up and my chest grew tight before I could stop them, and all I could do was try to rationalize the reaction away. He probably had a good reason to leave, somewhere he needed to be this morning. My organs persisted in their distress; couldn’t he have woken me up? How did he think I would feel waking up alone after...that? I groaned, a hand pressed to my face. This was my own fault, really. What was I doing messing around with someone I hardly even knew? I should have expected this outcome instead of being disappointed by it.

I forced myself out of bed and threw on some clothes. Alex may have known better than to come back to the room last night, but there was no telling when he’d return now that it was the next day. After fishing around for them in my sheets, I threw the condom wrappers into the same waste basket where Gilbert and I had thrown our condoms. After a moment’s consideration, I just took the entire thing out to the garbage chute.

  


There was a very cautious knock, then the door opened a mere inch.

“Is it safe to come in?” Alex asked.

I sighed, arranged my face, and said “yeah, he left a while ago. Come on in.”

Alex entered the room grinning and shut the door behind him. “So?” he asked, sitting down on his bed, bouncing a bit as if he were a child about to open a bicycle-shaped Christmas gift rather than a college student hoping to get a recap of a friend’s sexual endeavors. 

Well, Christmas wasn’t coming just yet. Instead of answering I said; “Did you stay with Eliza?”

“Yeah. Her roommate made me sleep on the floor but I consider it a worthy sacrifice.” He faltered, presumably wondering if my lack of enthusiasm meant nothing had happened. “That is, assuming things when well with Gilbert. So… how did they go?”

“Great,” I said. At least, the part he was asking about had been great.

Alex’s grin returned. Merry Christmas, Alex. “Awesome! I'm happy for you. Are you gonna get together again?”

“Oh…. We didn't really talk about it.”

“Well, it's not surprising if not much talking happened. Make sure you follow up.”

“Yeah….” I cleared my throat and adjusted my beanie. “How was the club?”

“Good. Gilbert's friends didn't stay much longer after you left. The small one obviously didn't want to be there. Clearly they were winging for him just like we were for you.”

“So I didn’t mess up Eliza’s good time by making you invite more people?”

“Naw,” Alex dismissed. “Eliza loves Theo and all those idiots as much as you and I do. It was a good time.”

I personally found myself wishing we’d invited fewer people; they’d all want a follow-up on how things had gone after Gilbert and I made our quick exit. I decided to just delegate the task to Alex--I was sure he was dying to talk about it anyway.

  


On Monday I showed up for class just as it was starting.

I may have done this on purpose.

Since there was no time for a chat, Gilbert merely flashed a smile and waved at me. I waved back somewhat awkwardly, ducking my head even as I forced a smile. I told myself it didn’t make a difference. Even if I showed up earlier, it wasn’t something we could talk about in public. I told myself that again as I made a quick exit at the end of class.

It was a couple hours later when I got a text message.

_You left in quite a hurry, dear friend._

I hesitated, but my “not in public” excuse didn’t help in this situation.

 _Yeah sorry._ I sent back. _I had some stuff to work on. Your sweater included._

_Well I am certainly looking forward to seeing my completed sweater but I’d much rather see you._

Okay. So he wasn’t just smiling at me in class to be polite. Still, he had referred to me as his friend. That kind of supported that nagging idea that he’d left because he wanted to, not because he had to.

 _I’ll see you Wednesday in class._ That seemed a little dismissive so I added _Highlight of my day._ before sending it off.

_Mine as well._

I made the same quick entrance and exit on Wednesday.

  


I could feel Alex hovering behind me as I loaded a new bobbin into my sewing machine.

“Nothing yet?” he asked.

I didn’t stop my task or look up. “He messaged me, but-”

“Come on Herc, don't chicken out now!” Alex said, shaking my shoulders. “You've already slept together, so the scary part is over.”

I dropped my arms to my side and heaved a heavy sigh. “Alex, he left.”

Alex let go of my shoulders. “What?”

I turned around in my chair to face him; he was going to pity me whether I saw it or not, so I might as well. “After we slept together. I woke up and he was gone.”

Alex knitted his brow. “Okay, that's... not ideal… but you said he messaged you, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then he still wants to talk to you.” I started to speak, but Alex cut me off again. “At least give him a chance to explain himself. If you don't like his explanation then that can be the end of it, but don't give up before you've given it a shot.”

Of course Alex was right. I knew that before he even said it. But not doing anything was always easier than doing something, and just like how I’d spent ten weeks admiring Gilbert and had never once tried to talk to him, that was what I defaulted to. But Gilbert had done something, and if him texting me meant anything, then he was trying to do something now. I should let him.

I took a deep breath. “If it goes badly, can you get me some brownies?”

“With or without weed?”

I huffed out a laugh. “I’ll let you know.”

  


I messaged Gilbert late that night.

_I'm gonna be at class like 15 min early tomorrow. Meet me?_

There was no response by the time I went to bed. Not surprising. He was probably pissed at me. What was surprising was that I woke up the next morning to his response.

_I'll be there._

  


When I reached the front of the building, Gilbert was there, leaning against the wall next to the door and staring off to one side. I stood for a moment, watching him, remembering when I thought he was too perfect to be alive. Would I have handled this better if I’d seen him as a person all along and not just in the few weeks since we started talking? He turned his head and we locked eyes. I gave him a small wave and nodded towards one of the big trees in the quad. He started over to it and I met him there. For a moment we just looked at each other, tense and unsmiling.

“So, my dear Hercules,” he said, ever making the first move, “are you going to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You left.”

He knitted his brow. “Yes….”

“Well, it kind of made me feel like you didn’t want to see me anymore,” I explained. “You didn’t say goodbye so-”

“Wait,” Gilbert cut in, lifting a hand to stop me. “Yes I did.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I told you I was leaving. That I had church in the morning?”

“Church,” I repeated distantly. It was so counter to my idea of him that I was sure I would have remembered if he had mentioned it.

“Yes, church! That’s what I said.”

“Said when? I don’t even remember having a conversation.” As far as I knew, I’d been exhausted from nerves and overwhelmed by the release and gone right to sleep.

“Well, you weren’t drunk so I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

I rubbed my forehead and tugged on my headband. “Okay, look, I believe you. But...when you said you were leaving, what did _I_ say?”

“Nothing to make me think you’d be upset. You just said mm-hm.”

“Okay, yeah, that settles it. Gilbert, I wasn’t awake for that. Sometimes when people talk to me when I’m asleep I’ll answer them, but for me it’s like it never happened.”

Gilbert winced. “So as far as you remembered I just left you?”

“Yeah.”

He heaved a sigh. “Well, I can see why you would feel hurt. But I would have hoped that if you were upset with me, you would talk to me about it so we could work it out.”

“That’s what I should have done, yeah. I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot.”

Gilbert sighed deeply. “I don’t think you’re an idiot so much as inconsiderate.”

I cringed.

“Maybe a bit selfish.”

I cringed more.

“And you hurt me when I tried to reach out to you only to get shot down.”

If I cringed farther I’d probably gravitationally collapse and form a black hole.

“But you did apologize, so I might be able to forgive you, with time.”

“Yeah,” I said hurriedly. “Of course. Take all the time you need.” I looked at him hopefully. “And is there’s any way I can even begin to make it up to you?”

Gilbert tilted his head and pondered this for a moment. “Maybe show me that you do want to spend time with me?”

“I want that more than anything,” I said, the most earnest words to ever leave my mouth. I cleared my throat. “I, uh, finished your hoodie last night. You want to come get it after class?”

“We could do that,” Gilbert said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. A grin broke out across his face. “Or we could ditch and go now.”

  


When Alex saw us, I didn’t even need to ask him to leave.

“I was just on my way to the library to work on a very long essay,” he said, sweeping what seemed to be a random assortment of books straight into his backpack and closing it up, “so I’ll probably be gone for a couple of hours. Call me if you need anything.”

“I really like your friends,” Gilbert commented once Alex was gone.

“I think I’ll keep them,” I replied. I coughed into my fist. “So, uh. Here’s your hoodie.” I walked over to my closet and pulled the sweater out. “Why don’t you try it on?”

Gilbert took a moment to look the hoodie over, admiration clear on his face as he turned it this way and that, fingers running over the seams and the cutie mark. Finally he slipped it on and zipped it up. I closed the closet so he could inspect himself with the mirror on the door. “It's a perfect fit!” he declared, arms out. He turned to me and smiled. “Thank you so much. It’s beautiful.”

 _Just like you._ “I’m glad you like it,” I said instead of voicing that last thought. “Are you sure you won't let me give it to you as a gift?”

He put a hand on my arm and smiled warmly. “Hercules, we’re becoming friends again.That is gift enough.”

My arm burned under his touch and I hoped some day we’d be back at a place where he could make me burn all over once again.

“Well,” I said, trying not to let my mind stray too much in that direction, knowing we weren’t there yet. “Friendship _is_ magic.” 


End file.
